In Software Defined Networking, system administrators can use controllers to remotely control devices on a network, such as servers and switches. OpenFlow protocol is one method for controllers to remotely program switches. Furthermore, Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”) may be implemented on networks employing OpenFlow technology. On in-band centralized networks and devices, a controller may attempt to indirectly establish a connection with a target switch by forwarding packets through an intermediary switch. One problem in this scenario, however, is that the target switch may not know how to respond to the controller after receiving a packet, because the target switch has not yet been programmed. If User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”) was implemented, instructions to program the switch can be sent directly to the switch in a single packet. However, in TCP networks the target switch may not be programmed until a TCP connection is established. In this case, when a controller sends a packet to establish a connection with a target switch, the target switch may not know what path on a network to use to respond to the controller because it has not yet been programmed.